Towel cabinet and method of loading same



July 23, 1929. F. G. s'rElNER TOWEL CABINET AND METHOD OF LOADING SAIIEFiled March 20, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l v fnl/67u40? /iAN/rGJTE/NER. M4@JWM TTQRNEY: l

July-23, 1929. F. G. STEINER TOWL CABINET AND METHOD O LOADING SAIEFiled March 20, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I wen of fkA/VKQJTE/NER TToR. NEYJPatented July 23, 1.929.

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FRANK Gr. STEINER, 0F CHICAGO,;ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO STEINER SALESCOMPANY, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, A CORPORATION OF UTAH.

TOWEL CABINET AND METHOD 0F LOADING SAME.

Application filed March 20,1926. Serial No. 96,273.

This invention relates to a cabinet for delivering a predeterminedlength of web of clean towel to the user or person standing in front ofthe cabinet who, with one hand, will release the locking device by meansof which the length of the web of clean towel delivered is controlledand with the other hand, will grasp and pull downwardly on the towel webto deliver it in convenient position for use and at the same timeoperate a winding or takeup mechanism for the used or soiled portion ofthe towel.

lllhen the roll or fold of clean towel is eX- hausted, the cabinet isloaded or filled by the laundry man or the janitor or attendant of thebuilding or washroom where the cabinet may be located, and the firststep is to open the door of the cabinet, a closed casing beingpreferably provided for this purpose to protect the towel from dust anddirt, and place the roll 0r fold of clean towel in the cabinet and carrythe loose end up over the delivery roll for frictional contact therewithso that when a downward pull is exerted on the clean web, the deliveryroll will be revolved and simultaneously a corresponding move-- mentwill be imparted to the takeup roll to wind up the soiled portion ofthetowel.

When the web of clean towel has been passed over the delivery roll andcarried down through the bottom of the cabinet, the person loading thecabinet must stretch this loose end up through the back of the cabinetto the takeup roll and provision must be made for doing this workconveniently and eXpeditiously, as obviously a laundry man or a janitorcannot take the time to thread or stretch a web of towel through anarrow confined space and particularly when it may be the duty of oneperson to attend to the filling or loading of a number of cabinets.

The object, therefore, of my present invention is to provide a cabinetof such construcf tion that the laundry man or the janitor can rst openthe front of the cabinet toinsert the roll of clean towel, and at thesame time expose the delivery feed roll for convenient passing of theweb of clean towel thereover with its loose end depending below thebottom of the cabinet. Then, having placed the clean roll in the cabinetin position for use and closed the front door, can movevor swing thebody of the cabinet outwardly from the wall to expose the space thereinin the rea-r of the feed rolls so that the loose end of the towel can beeasily and quickly carried up in the rear of these rolls to the takeup lroll, and thus the operationof loading or filling a cabinet with a cleantowel greatly facilitated.

The invention consists generally in lva'riof the'cabinet swung outwardlyfrom the rear l wall orsupp'ort to expose thek space at the rear of theinterior of the cabinet;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the cabinet above thefeed rolls showing the driving connect-ion between them and the devicefor controllingl the delivery of the towel.

In the drawing, referring to Figure ll, 2

represent-s the side walls ofthe cabinet, 3 the top thereof, 4 asuitable door normally closing the open front of the cabinet hingedpreferablyto one of the side walls andV 5 a rear wall that is secured bysuitable means to an upright support or wall ofthe room where thecabinet may be located and is hinged at 6 to one of the side walls 2 andhas a suitable locking device 7 a on its inner face controlled by meansof a key, -a similar locking device 7 being provided on thecorresponding face of the front door 4. These locks prevent anymischievous or unauthorized person from obfv taining access tothe'interior of the cabinet, the laundry man or the janitor, however,hav# ing a suitable key can easily and quickly manipulate the lock andobtain acess to' vthe cabinet.

Within the cabinet, I provide a suitable support or container for theroll or fold of clean towel 8. This support comprises, preferably, arear wall'9 supported between the side walls of the cabinet and spacedfrom the rear wall 5 thereof and having a forwardly extendingsubstantially horizontal portion 10 upon which the roll or fold of cleantowel 8 is loosely placed, accessv being hadV conveniently to thiscontainer or support when the front door of the cabinet is opened. Theroll or fold of clean towel will lie on the horizontal floor of thesupport and move back and forth thereon to allow the convenientunwinding of the towel web as it is pulled by the user. 11 represents adelivery feed roll having a roughened surface over which the loose webof towel is passed, a space being provided between the wall 10 and thefront door of the cabinet through which the towel web depends below thecabinet to form a loop within convenient reach of the user. The roll11has bearings in the side walls of the Y cabinet, and is provided with agear 12 adapted to mesh with a similar gear 13 on a takeup feed'roll 14that is mounted inbearings in Y the side walls of the` cabinet, a recessbe ing preferably provided in one of the side walls to receive thegears. The feed rolls are of substantially the same size and theirintergeared relation insures the Yoperation of the rolls simultaneously,the delivery feed roll revolving in one direction through the pull ofthe user 'on the towel web and the takeup roll being revolved in. theotherdirection at the same peripheral speed,va suitable dog 16 beingprovided for locking the feed rolls against backward movement. Thetakeup feed roll also has a feed control device 17 and a manuallyoperated lever 18 b y means of which the user of the towel can releasethe rolls and obtain a predetermined length of clean towel, the lockingdevice automatically returning to its normal position to check the feedof the towel when a certain length has been delivered. To insure theproper frictional contact between the web of clean towel and thedelivery roll 11, I preferto mount a roll 19 in brackets 20 on the door4 so that when the door is closed, the roll 19 will press inwardly onthe web of towel and hold it snugly against the surface of the deliveryroll, thus insuring sufficient frictional contact between the web oftowel and the delivery roll to drive the roll when the user exerts adownward pull onthe towel.

, When `the laundry man or the lianitor has placed the roll of cleantowel in the cabinet and stretched the web over the delivery feed roll,he will close the front door, release the lock atthe rear, and swing themain body including the side walls,-top and front ,door of the cabinet,outwardly on the hinges 6 away from the rear wall 5 and expose theentire interior of the cabinet at the rear thereof. Hewill then graspthe loose end of the towel web and pass it upwardly in the rear of thewall 9 to a takeup roll 21 that is mounted 1n guides 22 in the sideAwalls of the cabinet above the Vtakeup feed roll and when the loose endof the towel web is wound on this takeup roll, itwill rest by gravity onthe feed roll v14 and revolution of this feed roll through the movementof theV delivery feed roll will,

" through frictional contact, drive the takeup roll 21 to wind the webof towel thereon.

roll through the revolution of the feed roll 14.

From the foregoing description, itfwill be noted that the personloadingor filling the cabinet can, when thefront door is open, easily andquickly place the roll or fold of clean towel in the cabinet and stretchthe loose end thereof over the delivery feed roll to depend in aposition below the cabinet whenA the front door is closed. Then, he can.with equal convenience, release the body of the cabinet from its rearwall and swing it outwardly and expose the rear of the interior of thecabinet and easily and quickly stretch the loose end of the towel upthrough the rear of thecabinet tothe takeup roll, the soiled roll oftowel being of course lirst removed from the cabinet preliminary tofilling it with a clean towel. When this has been done, the main body ofthe cabinet is swung back against the wall and locked and the work ofloading or filling the cabinet with clean towel is complete. Y

It will be understood that various ways may be devised for mounting thecabinet to open .up in the manner described, and I do not therefore wishto be confined to the particular construction and arrangement hereinshown.

I claim as my invention: f

1, A towel cabinet having sides, an opening in its front and bottom anda door hinged at one side, a support at the rear of the cabinet to whichthe sides are hinged, and away from which the other side may behorizontally swung, a' delivery feed roll over which a web of cleantoweling deposited in the cabinet may be carried, a takeup feed' rol-lhaving a driving connection with said delivery roll, a takeup rolladapted to have theloose end of the towel web wound thereonV in constantContact with said takeupfeed roll to be driven thereby whereby thecabinet includingone side may be swung away from the support to exposethe backof the cabinet, and when said door is opened the loose end ofthe toweling deposited in the cabinet may be drawnup over said feedroll, then passed through said opening in the bottom of the cabinet andlooped under said bottom to the rear of the feed roll and to said takeuproll.

2. A towel cabinet having a support, a side wall hinged to said supportso as to be capable of swinging the other' side from the support, a doorhinged to la side wall Ifor opening and closing the cabinet, deliveryand feed rolls mounted in the cabinet, and a bottom between the sidewalls adapted to support a supply of toweling whereby the toweling maybe deposited on said bottom of t-he casing after the door is open andthe web of toweling extended over the delivery roll and looped beneaththe bottom, then the cabinet swung on its hinges to give access to therear thereof, a takeup roll mounted so as to remain in constant Contactwith the delivery roll accessible from the back of the cabinet when thesame is swung on its hinges from the support to provide convenientaccess for attaching the web to the takeup roll.

3. A towel cabinet having sides, an open front and a door hinged to oneside, a support at the rear of the cabinet and to which the other sideis hinged, a delivery feed roll over which a web of clean towel may becarried, a take up feed roll having a driving connection with saiddelivery roll, a take up roll adapted to have the loose end of the towelweb wound thereon for contact with said take up feed roll and restingagainst the same to be driven thereby said cabinet having an opening inits bottom and the construction being such that on opening the door ofthe cabinet the towel web may be passed over said delivery feed roll,thence downwardly through said opening in the bottom of the cabinet andthe cabinet swung on its side hinges to allow access to the rear of theroll and the toweling passed upwardly to said feed roll and the casingthen swung back to its normal position. x

4. A towel cabinet having a rear and side walls the rear wall beingadapted to be secured to an upper support one of the side walls of thecabinet being hinged to one side of the rear wall to swin horizontally,a take up roll and a feed roll pivoted in the cabinet,

driving connections between said rolls, a sup- Y port for a clean towelroll in the bottom of the cabinet, a door hinged to one side of thecabinet there being an open space between the bottom of the cabinet andsaid door when closed, the construction being such that a web of towelmay be passed up from the clean towel supply over the feed roll and downthrough saidopen space and when the cabinet is swung outwardly from itssup ort, access may be had to the rear of the ca inet to pass the loopedportion from below the cabinet to the rear of the take up roll and whenattached thereto the cabinet may be returned to normal position with itsrear portion against said support.

5. A towel cabinet comprising a rear support with a friction rollattached to its front surface said cabinet having side walls and' a dooralso having a friction roll attached to its inner surface one of theside walls of said cabinet being hinged to said sup-port to swinghorizontally towards and away from said support said cab-inet having inits bottom portion a support for its clean towel supply and an openingin its bottom portion when said dooris closed, feed and take up rollspivoted in the cabinet sides the construction being'such that the towelmay be passed from the clean towel supply upwardly over the vfeed roll,thence downwardly through the opening in the bottom of the cabinet andlooped below the towel support, thence passed' up to said take up rollwhen the cabinet is swung outwardly from the support to give access tothe rear of the rolls and when the door is closed and the cabinet swungto normal position said friction rolls will be brought in contact withthe towel web.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 16th day of March,1926.

FRANK G. STEINER(

